Tips for Including Informal Speaking in Any Course

<p>Informal speaking activities are opportunities for students to try out new ideas, expand their thinking about a topic, and develop their speaking skills in courses across the curriculum. Informal speaking activities require minimal preparation on the part of faculty and are typically low-stakes, ungraded activities or activities that can count toward participation. These activities can be incorporated into any course, which allow students to improve their speaking abilities throughout their undergraduate programs in every major.</p> <h4>Benefits of informal speaking for students</h4> <ul> <li>Help students learn course content <ul> <li>Example informal speaking activities: <ul> <li>Students give a (one-to-two) minute summary of an assigned reading, completed lab, or lecture segment</li> <li>Students pose (two) questions about content that is unclear</li> <li>Students respond to a discussion prompt during class</li> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li>Increase student engagement <ul> <li>Example informal speaking activities: <ul> <li>Students engage in a small group discussion about the day’s activities; have them develop a list of the (three) main takeaways from the day</li> <li>Students identify the “muddiest point” by posing a question about material from the day that is unclear; this can be done in small groups with one student reporting the question to the class in real time or submitting online to instructor for a starting point for the next class meeting’s discussion</li> <li>Students participate in instructor-led class discussions and/or have students lead class discussions to increase engagement, increase critical thinking, and encourage synthesis of new material with their previously-held beliefs and knowledge.</li> <li>Students engage in role playing</li> <li>Students deliver a (one-to-two) minute proposal or elevator pitch</li> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li>Support other learning activities <ul> <li>Example informal speaking activities: <ul> <li>Students participate in brainstorming sessions and report on generated ideas for a project/topic/research question/etc.</li> <li>Students deliver (one-to-two) minute “Work in Progress” talks; have students give a brief update about their progress on a current assignment/project; can be structured [where are they at, what’s one thing that is going well, what’s one thing that they are finding challenging] or unstructured [student speak freely about their progress for the allotted time]</li> <li>Students engage in peer-review sessions by offering oral feedback to each other in pairs or small groups</li> <li>Rehearsals of student presentations, either complete or partial</li> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li>Creates team-building and helps develop relationships <ul> <li>Informal speaking activities can also be used in the classroom to encourage collaboration, problem-solving, and decision-making. <ul> <li>Trivia sessions: students participate in small group teams (can be done in-person or facilitated online using breakout rooms for teams); trivia questions can be on random topics or focused on current course content.</li> <li>Idea building session: divide class into teams and present them with a problem related to course material. One team member writes down a solution and passes the sheet of paper to the next team member, who builds upon that idea and then passes it along to the rest of the team. The paper is passed until each team member has added to the original solution. When allotted time is up, a team spokesperson can present the team’s ultimate solution to the team or to the full class. [Adapted from Top Hat “21 Team-Building Activities for Students”]</li> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> </ul> <h4>Benefits of informal speaking for faculty</h4> <ul> <li>Informal speaking activities require minimal preparation <ul> <li>Activities can be incorporated into existing lecture materials and lesson plans</li> <li>Activities typically don’t require materials/supplies; students are speaking informally about course content, lecture material, projects or assignments they are working on</li> </ul> </li> <li>Informal speaking activities create flexibility in instruction to enhance student learning <ul> <li>Activities can be included spontaneously to enhance student learning. As an example, if students seem confused or are unresponsive during a lecture, pause delivery of content and incorporate an informal speaking activity (as an example, see “muddiest point” option in “increase student engagement” above)</li> </ul> </li> <li>Informal speaking activities do not have to be graded activities <ul> <li>Activities can be for participation credit or for experience</li> </ul> </li> <li>Informal speaking activities can be graded quickly if choosing to assign a grade <ul> <li>Use a check, check plus, check minus, or grade on a 5-point scale</li> </ul> </li> </ul>